The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Hyman Charles D

Hyman Charles D decreased its position in The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 447,234 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,998 shares during the period. Southern comprises 1.9% of Hyman Charles D’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Hyman Charles D’s holdings in Southern were worth $31,360,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of SO. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Southern by 0.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 99,572,665 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,444,343,000 after purchasing an additional 352,023 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Southern by 5.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,906,760 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,518,045,000 after acquiring an additional 1,838,857 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 1.6% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,737,843 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $694,953,000 after acquiring an additional 163,986 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Southern by 3.7% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,811,307 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $634,988,000 after purchasing an additional 349,122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Southern by 38.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,547,188 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $488,461,000 after purchasing an additional 2,096,988 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total value of $344,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,528 shares in the company, valued at $8,720,309.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 9,126 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.04, for a total transaction of $684,815.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 121,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,117,660.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total value of $344,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 126,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,720,309.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 19,126 shares of company stock worth $1,364,115. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Southern from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Mizuho increased their price target on Southern from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 price objective (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Southern in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Southern from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.71.

Southern Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of SO stock traded up $0.68 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $77.63. The company had a trading volume of 6,695,041 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,845,418. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.98 billion, a PE ratio of 20.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.75 and a beta of 0.48. The company’s fifty day moving average is $70.78 and its 200 day moving average is $69.82. The Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $61.56 and a fifty-two week high of $77.77.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.59 billion. Southern had a net margin of 16.74% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that The Southern Company will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.71%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.42%.

Southern Profile

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations.